Perfectly Planned 2023: Amy’s Go-To Planning Tools
I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned this before, but in case you forgot, I love January. Surprisingly, that’s a very divisive statement. It seems you either love January or hate it – and I love it. My guess is that it’s because I’m in retail. January is the fresh start we all need after the big holiday season. The books are set to zero, and we begin anew. We get to plan new ideas, improve old ones, reflect on the successes of last year, and set future goals with optimism. It’s just plain exciting. So much so, that it’s hard to contain myself. I want to get moving with all the things right away! Instead, I must be patient and methodical. To help you stay organized and plan ahead for 2023, I wanted to share a few of my favorite tools from Penny Post.
To organize myself, I make lists, upon lists, upon lists. My mom did this, and the proverbial apple didn’t fall far from the tree. I have two favorite notebooks that I use regularly – Appointed lined notebooks (always in Oxford Blue) and Rhodia No. 19 lined notepads. My Appointed notebooks are for all my good ideas and meeting notes, and my Rhodia No. 19 is for all the lists and calculations I make. You know – a notebook that contains grocery lists, menus for the week, and to-do lists. Everyone I know will tell you that my handwriting is terrible, and they aren’t wrong. I must have lines, otherwise it would be ten times worse. The lines on both of these are somewhere between wide and college ruled, which I find very appealing. It feels like I’m somewhere between a kid and an adult, which is my comfort zone.
When it comes to writing instruments, my go-to’s are Blackwing pencils –full stop. They are my favorites and pretty much the only things I will write with – unless I need to write something permanent or my signature. I love the way pencils feel on the paper. Rhodia paper is smooth and ideal for fountain pens, but the way a pencil glides over it is quite satisfying. The other important planning tool I use is a Mildliner double sided highlighter. It’s great for emphasizing the findings in our inventory reports or pointing out good stuff in our catalogs.
Speaking of catalogs – while digital ones are well and good, I still like a paper catalog on which I can make notes, dog ear pages, and mark with handy dandy page flags. Page flags are essential. I use them to mark up catalogs, cookbooks, reports, and more. The clear ones are great because they don’t cover up the words underneath. But, there are so many fun patterns that sometimes I can’t help but opt for those too!
This year, as I try to build new habits, I’m going to try out one of our Habit Trackers. This one from Ramona and Ruth is going to be magic, I just know it!
Organization and planning tools are very personal. These are just a few of my go-to’s. At Penny Post, we have planners galore if that’s your thing, notepads, notebooks of all shapes and sizes to suit you, and all the tools you’ll need to put pen – or pencil – to paper!
